To our dedicated community of Couchiching Conservancy supporters:
On behalf of the Board of Directors, it is with sincere gratitude, along with anticipation for the future, that I let you know of an upcoming change in leadership for the organization.
Our current Executive Director, Dorthea Hangaard, has announced that she will be leaving her position in spring 2026, after working with the Couchiching Conservancy for the past 15 years. Dorthea will be moving back to the west coast where she lived and worked before moving to Orillia in 2010.
We are extremely grateful for the outstanding skills and leadership Dorthea brought to the Conservancy. She began as a project manager for the Copeland Forest Friends and went on to develop our Community Science Program. In 2021 she became the Conserved Lands Manager and in 2023 was appointed Executive Director.
Over the past few years as executive director, Dorthea has continued to build our dedicated community of volunteers, supporters and staff members. Her commitment to achieving our mandate of protecting nature has helped us to continue to achieve success, with over 15,000 acres now protected. She accomplished this all while guiding the organization through some tough challenges due to climate change. Our entire community has benefitted from Dorthea’s expertise and dedication and she is leaving the Conservancy in a very strong position.
Dorthea will continue in her role until the end of May 2026. In the meantime, we have created a transition team that will be conducting a search for a new Executive Director. Information about this job opportunity will be posted to our website late November.
We look forward to working with Dorthea over the next few months as we continue to work on some exciting projects – we will keep in touch!
Sincerely,
Jane Bonsteel
President, Couchiching Conservancy Board of Directors